Will you mentor me?
I am a medical science student and find the research in psychedelic drugs thoroughly fascinating and quite urgently needed. Hence I have skewed my study plan to allow for more science and less business. Nonetheless, I am also a business student and entrepreneurial at heart. I am inspired by MAPS, the organization headed by Rick Doblin, and by the way that Rick does business. You can hear some of his stories on his London Real episode.
A few years ago, I featured in an online TV series called, 'The Naked CEO', which aimed to give business students a look into the day-to-day business lives of real life CEOS. On the day where I was filmed,I got to speak to Alex Malley - CEO of CPA Australia. He spoke about the value of a mentor, and about never being afraid to ask someone to be your mentor. Years alter, with Alex's words still clear in my mind, I decided to ask Rick if he would be my mentor.
He kindly agreed, although it was in passing and we didn’t specify what form the mentorship would take. In my mind, I would just like to be able to speak with him every so often to get his thoughts on what I’ve been up to, in terms of pushing scientific research forward – a task that requires lots of networking and an entrepreneurial, opportunity-seeking mindset. In this field, you have to find ways under, over and around a landscape full of obstacles to get anything done. Sharing my experiences with him and hearing what he has been up to in the same regard will teach me a lot, I'm sure.
I also decided to ask him for a signature. I was travelling with a book I borrowed from the UTS Library called ‘Acid Test’ by Tom Schroder. The book follows the stories of a few main characters, one of which is Rick. The characters are all connected by their experiences with MDMA and PTSD and it is a truly well written book and a fascinating read. If you borrow it from the library, you will now find on the first page, an inscription by Rick:
“To future readers,
You, too, can take and pass your own acid test!
To a psychedelic future,
Rick – 7/12/15”
Apart from occasional phone calls, I also decided to put Rick’s name on a CV I sent to Yale for an internship opportunity, working with Mohini Ranganathan and his team, who are examining the effects of THC and CBD on humans. I didn’t ask his permission to do so, I simply hope that if the team at Yale contacts him about me, he will remember me and have a few words to say about my dedication to the cause of medical research of psychedelics.
Furthermore, I am aware of the subject ‘Business Internship’ that is offered at UTS and I hope one day to organize to complete that subject by working in some more formal way with Rick at MAPS.
But that is going to be a story for another time…